Portrait of Lissy Vadakel

Welcome to the British Council in Singapore

This year marks 75 years of our presence in Singapore. We are immensely proud to have played a part in the Singapore growth story through our work in the English language, Education, Arts and Culture. We continue to focus our work in these areas so that we can continue be part of Singapore’s future, by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and Singapore.

  • In English, we want to enable much more widespread and better quality teaching and learning of English, and assessment pedagogy and practices.
  • In Education, we want to share the best of our education system and learn from other countries.
  • In the Arts, we want to connect people and change the way we see each other, to help create opportunity, trust, and personal and societal development.

A leader in the English language

In Singapore we have been successfully teaching a wide range of students, both adults and younger learners, for many years as well as supporting the training and development of teachers.

Our adult courses are aimed at helping people achieve their self-improvement goals, whether for career or otherwise. We also provide the opportunity for people to take international language proficiency qualifications such as IELTS.

With our young learners, from early years to pre-tertiary and junior college, we aim to give our students the means to excel in examinations and gain valuable life skills that they can use with confidence and creativity.

We do this by understanding the school curriculum thoroughly and also by bringing to our classrooms our beliefs about what makes good teaching and learning so that our learners are fully engaged and motivated.

Promoting the internationalisation of education

The UK is home to some of the best universities in the world, with a powerful research base and a huge range of choices available to young Singaporeans as they seek to further their studies at undergraduate level or go on to engage in research.

We can guide students through their education options, helping them make the right choice. Close to 7,000 Singaporean students choose the UK every year as their study destination, adding to the rich cultural mix that is campus life in the UK. Another 27,000 study for a UK higher educational qualification while remaining in Singapore. 

We also support Singapore institutions and policy makers through our extensive networks and experience in forging strong links between them and their UK partners in areas such as collaborative research, exchanges and joint degrees.

Connecting people through the Arts

We provide international opportunities for the people of Singapore to engage with UK thought leaders and practitioners working in the creative industries. Working with our partners we create platforms to showcase new work and to support collaborative projects which allow for the emergence of artworks born of the Singapore-UK relationship.

Our website has all the information that you need to find out more about our activities. I hope that you will enjoy our events and programmes.

Best wishes

Lissy Vadakel
Country Director, British Council in Singapore